Community News & Information
We welcome with great pleasure the following new members: Joseph J.Booky Coppell, TX Victor Babu Overland Pk, KS James Forest Nashua, NH Thomas G.Becea San Diego, CA Tanasi Shola Providence, RI Elly Adam Toronto, Canada Theo.Vlachos Watertown, MA John Zegras Yonkers, NY William Zegras Bedford, NY Peter Zegras Westport, CT Jenny S. Babu Fairfield, CT ...
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The Mighty Water-Wheel
This is the giant water-wheel which transformed the rushing cold water of the mountain stream into mechanical energy which in turn powered the sawmills and flour mills of Baieasa. Please note (p.14) the geometrical perfection of the wheel, which involved many complex principles of applied geometry. At a glance it seems to resemble a huge ...
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Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor: Plaudits to you and those responsible for the revitalization of the Society Farsarotul! I have enjoyed receiving the newsletter and have taken the liberty of photocopying the February ’89 issue for distri-bution to several Land of Lincoln “Vlachs” whom I have met through my work in the Illinois State Library. Enclosed is an ...
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Community News
We welcome with great pleasure the following new members: James Perkins New Milford, CT Thomas R. Fatse New York, NY G.Brajituli Bonn, W.Germany L.Thomas Babu Springfield, IL Laura Christo Monroe, CT Our correspondent in the Midwest, Tom Rossiaky, expects to attend our Annual Dinner Dance on November 11, 1989. In the meantime he sends us ...
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From the Editor
We hope this issue of our Newsletter finds you in good health and good spirits. We have an exciting issue this month. About a year ago I received a call from a fellow in Stow, Ohio who was kind of amazed that there was actually a society specifically for the Arumani, as he put it. This ...
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How I Became Interested in My Ethnic Background
First, some family back-ground: My mother’s maiden name was Mariana McCombs. The fourth of six children, she was of mixed British and Germanic background. My father’s name is Anastas Thomas Rushaki. He was the first of six brothers; his father came from Magarova, his mother from Krushevo (both now in Yugoslavia). Being the first grandchild ...
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History of the Society Farsarotul
While benevolent societies have existed for many centuries, the specific roots of the Society Farsarotul may lie in the guild system of Ottoman cities. Guilds were groups of men in similar professions who banded together for their mutual support. When the Ottomans conquered the Balkans, the Turkish religious brotherhoods (akhi) took over the existing Balkan ...
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Letters to the Editor
For the most part, the response to Nick Balamaci’s poignant article, “Resurrecting Aromanian Culture,” was positive and encouraging. One would think, however, that such a reflective article would induce more letters of support, especially given the size and diversity of this community, not to mention the capabilities. He voiced what many have known and felt ...
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Cultural Forum: The Poet George Perdichi
George Perdichi was born in 1912 in the village of Perivoli and studied literature in Rumania. The fortunes of Hitler’s war brought him to America, but he was never happy here; it seems that the impersonal, materialistic aspects of our lifestyle offended his poet’s sensibility. I was fortunate enough to have known Giugica, as we called ...
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The ICOANA: Holy of Holies in the Vlach Home
This is a photograph of the icon that we had in our home in Baieasa, and it is the only spiritual link that we have with the village of our origin. Needless to say, in our old home in Greece it was considered holy and treated with respect and reverence. We don’t know exactly how ...
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Community News
The Society notes with sadness the passing of longtime members Nisa Nastu in Rumania and Constance Balamaci and Pandely Teja in the USA. Christolu s’la liearta We welcome with great pleasure the following new members: Stella Babiana Woonsocket, RI Arthur Topoulos Lancaster, PA Andrei Bindela The Bronx, NY Stephen A. Tamposi Nashua, NH Vasil Batsu Bridgeport, ...
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From the Editor
We have been publishing for two years now; it is a good time for a glance at our achievements and at the position of our people at the start of the year 1989. The Newsletter has turned out to be an extremely popular and effective means of keeping in touch with our far-flung community and ...
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Memory, Meaning, and the Creative Renewal of Culture
In this article I would like to explore two subjects that are recurring themes to me personally and to our community in general. The first is how I, as both a designer and a person, can develop and present ideas that are personal and inherently authentic. The second is how history and traditional ideas and ...
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Letters to the Editor
I read with interest the latest newsletter and was very much impressed with its content and substance. If the newsletters are an indication of the direction in which the society is headed, then the committee of the society and all the contributors to the newsletters should be highly commended. Hopefully, this will stimulate some of ...
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Cultural Forum: Pompey’s Salad
or Roma locuta est, causa finita est (“Rome has spoken, case closed”) After attending two American “Congresses of Macedonian-Romanian Culture” at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, I would like to take this opportunity as a second-generation Aromanian to summarize my impressions and criticisms and also to propose some beneficial changes. First, my reasons for attending ...
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Community News
The Society notes with sadness the passing of member George D. Kiosse. May his soul rest in peace. We note also some recent deaths of non-members which nevertheless touched many of us rather deeply, as these people were well-known and dear. In Woonsocket, Rhode Island: Maria Babiana and Nicola Shola. In Constantsa, Rumania: Vasilikia Balamaci ...
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Resurrecting Aromanian Culture
Whom are we kidding when we speak of preserving Aromanian culture for posterity? There are two ways to preserve a culture for the future: alive, in schools, factories, mass media, government, trade, science, literature, and art; and dead, in a history book or a hermetically-sealed museum display of old colorful costumes. When was the last time you ...
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Community News
The Society notes with sadness the passing of long-time members Grigore Becea and Santa Gecca. May their souls rest in peace. We welcome with great pleasure the following new members: Mary Costulas Somerville, MA Manuela Culetsu The Bronx, NY Michael Babu Fairfield, CT Paul Daukas, Sr Rocky Hill, CT Elaine Osowski Bridgeport, CT Linda Balamaci ...
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A Note on the Contributors
(Due to a proofreading error our notes of acknowledgement to Beverlee Fatse Dacey and to Gus Moran were left out of the last issue. They appear below; our apologies for the delay.) h Beverlee Fatse Dacey (“Ethnic Values and Ethnic Identity”) is an anthropologist and perhaps the pioneer in our community in researching the facts of ...
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Cultural Forum: A New Tone for Our Cultural Discussions
As we know from modern anthropological research, and as Beverlee Fatse Dacey illustrates in this issue, language is by no means the only component of a culture, nor even a necessary part of it. It is just one of many aspects of culture–an important one, no doubt–yet it is quite possible to have an Aromanian ...
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